[img_r]http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/packer/img/news/sep08/stramon0924.jpg[/img_r]Green Bay - While the Green Bay Packers are hopeful cornerback Al Harris will return this season from a spleen injury, his replacements are gearing up for their increased roles in the interim.

Tramon Williams, who will replace Harris as the right cornerback, got a glimpse Wednesday into his new world as a dozen television cameras and double the amount of reporters encircled his normally docile locker.

"I love the cameras, man," Williams said with a big smile. "I'm good."

Well away from the spotlight and out of touch with most of his teammates, Harris continued to spend his days seeking multiple medical opinions about the ruptured spleen he suffered Sunday night when Harris collided with linebacker A.J. Hawk.

Coach Mike McCarthy said there was a "good chance" Harris would avoid surgery, which would very likely end his season.

"It's a serious injury," McCarthy said. "We will take a cautious approach. Everything we'll do is in his best interests. We're talking about an internal injury. It's not a hamstring or something that's different based on the individual.

"We're getting as much information as possible. I'm hopeful that he'll be back. The time frame just hasn't been established yet."

What is known is that Harris will not do anything for the next week. If the third and fourth opinions Harris receives in the next two days don't turn up any new concerns, Harris will then be allowed to participate in non-impact workouts in the pool or on an elliptical machine, Harris' agent, Jack Bechta, wrote on nationalfootballpost.com.

If Harris shows significant healing on his next CT scan in a few weeks, Harris may then be allowed to resume "light football activities and practice," according to Bechta.

Harris will see his streak of 175 consecutive games played - which dates back to 1998 with the Philadelphia Eagles - end Sunday, as he has been ruled out for the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"If Al was standing here, he'd tell you he wants to play this week," McCarthy said. "That's kind of how he feels."

According to Bechta, Harris asked one doctor to remove his spleen so he could play against the Bucs. Obviously the doctor frowned on that idea.

For now, Harris will have to watch his understudy, Williams, perform in his stead with the lessons he learned from watching Harris.

"Everything," said Williams, when asked what he took from Harris. "I mean, the guy's a great player. Just the way he prepares for a game, the way he studies a receiver, the way he breaks down film - just everything. I'm going to come out and bring everything to the table and show with that experience that I learned from him and myself."

It's been a quick rise from obscurity for the 25-year-old Williams. He walked on at Louisiana Tech and then was cut by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2006. It took until Nov. 29 of that year for the Packers to sign him to their practice squad. But once Williams took the field for training camp last year, buried deep down the depth chart, he made an almost immediate impact.

"Tramon has been a great surprise for us," McCarthy said. "Just the way he developed from Year 1 to Year 2 in the off-season, he's a true testament to hard work, the off-season program. He had a good year last year, and we feel very comfortable letting him step in there and play. I'm excited for him, and we won't even blink with him in there."

It's good the Packers have confidence in Williams, because even he knows the odds are high that Bucs coach Jon Gruden and his 67-pass attempt offense that beat the Chicago Bears on Sunday will be seeking out No. 38.

"(I'm) the new guy. You've got Charles Woodson on the other side. Why not?" Williams said. "But, you know, we'll see what's going to happen."

While Williams has played well as the nickel back this season, he has only played on defense in 11 games dating back to last season, including the playoffs. He eventually supplanted Jarrett Bush as the nickel back as Williams proved to have a better combination of athletic ability and ball skills needed in the Packers' scheme.

While Williams has been solid for the most part, he has had some problems. He got nearly turned around by Calvin Johnson on one of his touchdowns for the Detroit Lions in Week 2. Williams also was a little out of position against Dallas on Miles Austin's game-clinching 52-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

But mistake-free performances by the other cornerbacks will prove to be more important with Harris out.

With Bush most likely to be needed at safety because of injuries there, Will Blackmon probably will replace Williams at nickel back. Blackmon, while a great athlete, has limited game experience.

Rookie Pat Lee will also be active for the first time and will be used mostly on special teams. However, with Woodson still dealing with a painful toe fracture, Lee could appear on defense in dime packages. He often looked lost at times in training camp and in the exhibition games. Lee said he's ready if needed, but it remains to be seen whether he can be successful.

"We'll find out," McCarthy said.

"We'll work all those combinations this week. It's important for all 45 of us to be ready to play. It's that type of game. It's going to be a physical contest, a competitive contest."

The Packers have long talked up their young players in the secondary, and their confidence in them should their 30-something starters, Harris and Woodson, finally start to show their age. The Packers maintained they had a succession plan in place. While Harris might indeed be back this season, the opportunity is there for those young players to show they are ready now.

"Absolutely," Blackmon said. "I don't want to sit here and state the obvious, but that's pretty much what it is. If someone goes down, it's an opportunity to step up. We'll show we're ready."

I just listened to him on the radio. Tramon Williams that is. Sounds like a good guy and pretty level headed. I hope he plays well enough that we don't miss Al Harris. I bet Charles Woodson isn't happy about losing Al, aside from being his friend of course. Now he's never going to see a ball thrown his way lol

[img_r]http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/packer/img/news/sep08/stramon0924.jpg[/img_r]Green Bay - While the Green Bay Packers are hopeful cornerback Al Harris will return this season from a spleen injury, his replacements are gearing up for their increased roles in the interim.

Tramon Williams, who will replace Harris as the right cornerback, got a glimpse Wednesday into his new world as a dozen television cameras and double the amount of reporters encircled his normally docile locker.

"I love the cameras, man," Williams said with a big smile. "I'm good."

Well away from the spotlight and out of touch with most of his teammates, Harris continued to spend his days seeking multiple medical opinions about the ruptured spleen he suffered Sunday night when Harris collided with linebacker A.J. Hawk.

Coach Mike McCarthy said there was a "good chance" Harris would avoid surgery, which would very likely end his season.

"It's a serious injury," McCarthy said. "We will take a cautious approach. Everything we'll do is in his best interests. We're talking about an internal injury. It's not a hamstring or something that's different based on the individual.

"We're getting as much information as possible. I'm hopeful that he'll be back. The time frame just hasn't been established yet."

What is known is that Harris will not do anything for the next week. If the third and fourth opinions Harris receives in the next two days don't turn up any new concerns, Harris will then be allowed to participate in non-impact workouts in the pool or on an elliptical machine, Harris' agent, Jack Bechta, wrote on nationalfootballpost.com.

If Harris shows significant healing on his next CT scan in a few weeks, Harris may then be allowed to resume "light football activities and practice," according to Bechta.

Harris will see his streak of 175 consecutive games played - which dates back to 1998 with the Philadelphia Eagles - end Sunday, as he has been ruled out for the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"If Al was standing here, he'd tell you he wants to play this week," McCarthy said. "That's kind of how he feels."

According to Bechta, Harris asked one doctor to remove his spleen so he could play against the Bucs. Obviously the doctor frowned on that idea.

For now, Harris will have to watch his understudy, Williams, perform in his stead with the lessons he learned from watching Harris.

"Everything," said Williams, when asked what he took from Harris. "I mean, the guy's a great player. Just the way he prepares for a game, the way he studies a receiver, the way he breaks down film - just everything. I'm going to come out and bring everything to the table and show with that experience that I learned from him and myself."

It's been a quick rise from obscurity for the 25-year-old Williams. He walked on at Louisiana Tech and then was cut by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2006. It took until Nov. 29 of that year for the Packers to sign him to their practice squad. But once Williams took the field for training camp last year, buried deep down the depth chart, he made an almost immediate impact.

"Tramon has been a great surprise for us," McCarthy said. "Just the way he developed from Year 1 to Year 2 in the off-season, he's a true testament to hard work, the off-season program. He had a good year last year, and we feel very comfortable letting him step in there and play. I'm excited for him, and we won't even blink with him in there."

It's good the Packers have confidence in Williams, because even he knows the odds are high that Bucs coach Jon Gruden and his 67-pass attempt offense that beat the Chicago Bears on Sunday will be seeking out No. 38.

"(I'm) the new guy. You've got Charles Woodson on the other side. Why not?" Williams said. "But, you know, we'll see what's going to happen."

While Williams has played well as the nickel back this season, he has only played on defense in 11 games dating back to last season, including the playoffs. He eventually supplanted Jarrett Bush as the nickel back as Williams proved to have a better combination of athletic ability and ball skills needed in the Packers' scheme.

While Williams has been solid for the most part, he has had some problems. He got nearly turned around by Calvin Johnson on one of his touchdowns for the Detroit Lions in Week 2. Williams also was a little out of position against Dallas on Miles Austin's game-clinching 52-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

But mistake-free performances by the other cornerbacks will prove to be more important with Harris out.

With Bush most likely to be needed at safety because of injuries there, Will Blackmon probably will replace Williams at nickel back. Blackmon, while a great athlete, has limited game experience.

Rookie Pat Lee will also be active for the first time and will be used mostly on special teams. However, with Woodson still dealing with a painful toe fracture, Lee could appear on defense in dime packages. He often looked lost at times in training camp and in the exhibition games. Lee said he's ready if needed, but it remains to be seen whether he can be successful.

"We'll find out," McCarthy said.

"We'll work all those combinations this week. It's important for all 45 of us to be ready to play. It's that type of game. It's going to be a physical contest, a competitive contest."

The Packers have long talked up their young players in the secondary, and their confidence in them should their 30-something starters, Harris and Woodson, finally start to show their age. The Packers maintained they had a succession plan in place. While Harris might indeed be back this season, the opportunity is there for those young players to show they are ready now.

"Absolutely," Blackmon said. "I don't want to sit here and state the obvious, but that's pretty much what it is. If someone goes down, it's an opportunity to step up. We'll show we're ready."

I just listened to him on the radio. Tramon Williams that is. Sounds like a good guy and pretty level headed. I hope he plays well enough that we don't miss Al Harris. I bet Charles Woodson isn't happy about losing Al, aside from being his friend of course. [size=18]Now he's never going to see a ball thrown his way lol[/size]

THAT is a good point. As humorous as it was intened to be, whoever takes Harris' position better be ready to be tested.

The learning curve is short and SHARP! What, with Seahawks and the Colts right around the corner, look for a lot of defensive adjustments. Unless he is able to step it up. And it is a BIG step!

i know it will be a tough task for williams but it seems he is ready for it hope he shows it on the field,it also sounds like bush will see more action as a safety with the injuries there i hope these guys step up the talent is there and with wells coming back the o-line should improve i think the pack will be better than what people give them credit for not saying were elite just saying they can win games :icon_smile:

While Williams has played fairly well in short stints, I don't have alot of faith that he can hold up adequately for 30 minutes of defense.I think the best scenario would be for the offense to control the clock and keep the defense off the field.Of course Mike McCarthy would have to commit to a running game to do that.

While Williams has played fairly well in short stints, I don't have alot of faith that he can hold up adequately for 30 minutes of defense.I think the best scenario would be for the offense to control the clock and keep the defense off the field.Of course Mike McCarthy would have to commit to a running game to do that.

Part I of your post was 100% dead on. Yes. Eat the clock with the O.

Part II, we can make up for a running game with what BF did last year. Remember, we played the first seven games with no running game whatsoever, and I think we only lost one of them if I remember correctly.
Mike McCarthy will need to do the same thing. We'll need to control the clock. Get our O on the field, and stay on the field. What we really need to do is convert our 3rd downs. When you start converting 3rd down after 3rd down, we'll wear down their D and Williams in there in Harris' place won't even be an issue.

While Williams has played fairly well in short stints, I don't have alot of faith that he can hold up adequately for 30 minutes of defense.I think the best scenario would be for the offense to control the clock and keep the defense off the field.Of course Mike McCarthy would have to commit to a running game to do that.

Part I of your post was 100% dead on. Yes. Eat the clock with the O.

Part II, we can make up for a running game with what BF did last year. Remember, we played the first seven games with no running game whatsoever, and I think we only lost one of them if I remember correctly.
Mike McCarthy will need to do the same thing. We'll need to control the clock. Get our O on the field, and stay on the field. What we really need to do is convert our 3rd downs. When you start converting 3rd down after 3rd down, we'll wear down their D and Williams in there in Harris' place won't even be an issue.

Zombie,

It will still be an issue... Williams should still be better than an Ahmad Carroll or someone like that... I think we will see double teaming to his side a lot.

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